Thinking of going AIO how worried should I be about failure?

GCS

Limp Gawd
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Jun 15, 2006
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Thinking of going AIO as my Noctua and my 3080 are touching each other in a few spots and super close in others. Also the noctua is blocking at least half of the rear fan on the 3080

Worried about failure, leakage etc and ruining an entire computer which would freak me out naturally.

How long do these things last anyway.
 
AIOs generally don't fail. I've sold TONS (literally thousands) and have seen 5-10 fail within 3 years. Usually because of the pump failing. I've seen ONE leak after being installed within the warranty period.

After the 5-year mark, its advisable to replace them.

I would advise against REALLY cheap ones, and I would advocate getting Assetek type pumps (the ones with the circular ring-mount) as these tend to be the most stable.
 
There are several videos on youtube from different techtubers covering aios, and how to mount them. Best advice I heard from them on the mounting front it to make sure the pump isn't above the top of the water line of the aio.
 
AIOs generally don't fail. I've sold TONS (literally thousands) and have seen 5-10 fail within 3 years. Usually because of the pump failing. I've seen ONE leak after being installed within the warranty period.

After the 5-year mark, its advisable to replace them.

I would advise against REALLY cheap ones, and I would advocate getting Assetek type pumps (the ones with the circular ring-mount) as these tend to be the most stable.
There are several videos on youtube from different techtubers covering aios, and how to mount them. Best advice I heard from them on the mounting front it to make sure the pump isn't above the top of the water line of the aio.


I have seen the opposite - mount rad up top with tubes point down from the CPU plate to avoid issues. I would need to mount up top for my case

Would go 280mm as that is what I have space for up top

Arctic Freezer II would be first on the list but that is impossible to buy it seems

After that thinking may NZXT 63 but I have heard the pump is very noisy

What about a Corsair H115?
 
I have seen the opposite - mount rad up top with tubes point down from the CPU plate to avoid issues. I would need to mount up top for my case

Which would put the water level above the pump. If you front mount it, just make sure the top of the aio is higher than the pump, and it amounts to the same thing.
 
1605670974629.png

This would be how not to do it if you mount it up front. See how the pump is above the rad? ^

The one below show it with the top of the rad above the pump, which would be ok. I personally prefer the look of mounting it at the top, but that isn't always possible.
1605671016928.png
 
I would mount rad/fan in the top of the case. I have a Lian Li Lancool II Mesh case
 
Then you should be fine, just be sure to get a quality AIO, and it'll work great.
 
Well kinda thinking Corsair H115 platinum since it seems well liked and I haven't read too many complaints about pump noise.

I love the look of the Lian Li galahad but its not 280mm and has little known history. Performance has been pretty good but not as good as many others.
 
Thinking of going AIO as my Noctua and my 3080 are touching each other in a few spots and super close in others. Also the noctua is blocking at least half of the rear fan on the 3080

Worried about failure, leakage etc and ruining an entire computer which would freak me out naturally.

How long do these things last anyway.
Lots of good advice.

Assuming you have a normal size tower case I would use one of the bigger air coolers and setup case to have good airflow to all components. Not only do air coolers last way longer than CLCs. I say CLCs because most AIOs are CLCs. AIOs are all factory built water cooling systems with copper radiators, threaded fittings, fill port, etc. so can be serviced and repaired if needed. CLCs are factory built with no provision to top up coolant, not threaded fittings, aluminum radiators, etc. While neither is very well built, AIOs are generally better quality.

What case, motherboard and RAM are you using? What is case fan setup?
 
Lots of good advice.

Assuming you have a normal size tower case I would use one of the bigger air coolers and setup case to have good airflow to all components. Not only do air coolers last way longer than CLCs. I say CLCs because most AIOs are CLCs. AIOs are all factory built water cooling systems with copper radiators, threaded fittings, fill port, etc. so can be serviced and repaired if needed. CLCs are factory built with no provision to top up coolant, not threaded fittings, aluminum radiators, etc. While neither is very well built, AIOs are generally better quality.

What case, motherboard and RAM are you using? What is case fan setup?
Lian Li Lancool II Mesh
Gigabyte X570 Pro Wifi
Gskill Trident RGB ram

Currently have a Noctua NHD15 which has issues with my setup
1 - to clear the ram you have to raise the fan, doing so causes it to hit the case side panel You can still close it but it pushes on the fan a little thus pushing it downward
2 - Installed a 3080 and the Noctua is so wide it is basically touching the back of the card
3 - Noctua is so big it covers up nearly half of the fan on the back of the 3080. I mean there is a gap there but its not going to allow for good airflow

Was considering moving to a smaller air cooler and be done with it as well. Just not sure which one. Thought Dark Rock (not pro) but their site says that one has ram issues on my board. Pro version ironically does not but its about the same size as the noctua (slightly smaller in some areas) so that IMHO is not really an option.

AIO would give quality cooling and remove the space issue next to the GPU/CPU area. Just fearful of issues (like many). As far as keeping it for 5 years and getting a new tbh I would probably wouldn't care as I doubt anything I have now will be there then (same would be if I went air cooler).
 
Sounds like it should work fine. Air from 3080 should be able to flow into fins on cooler, and unless fan touching side & RAM is causing vibrations and thus noise it shouldn't be a problem. If you had NH-D15S you wouldn't be having current problems because it is offset so fins only reach 67mm toward PCIe, and with single fan in middle there is no front fan clearance issues.

The bigger the air cooler and number of heatpipes the better they cool, so fan/s can spin slower while maintaining same temps. How well air coolers work is very dependent on how well case is flowing cool air to cooler. Every degree warmer air is entering cooler is same degrees hotter component is at same fan speed and load. If air entering cooler is 3c or less above room temp all is good. Also most stock case fans are marginal at best. If their static pressure rating is less than about 1.3mm H2O at about 1200-1300rpm they don't more much air through grill and filter resistance .. definitely not as much as cooler fan/s are moving through coolers. when this happens coolers have to re-use their own heated exhaust air .. making cooler intake air temp 15c, 20c, even 30c warmer than room is both CPU and GPU are working hard.
Link below to basics of airflow and optimizing case airflow might be of interest:
https://hardforum.com/threads/basic-guide-to-improving-case-airflow.1987938/
 
I love the look of the Lian Li galahad but its not 280mm and has little known history. Performance has been pretty good but not as good as many others.
According to the Lian Li website for the Lancool II Mesh, while it can accommodate 2 140 fans on the top, the radiator support, for some reason, is only a 120x2, or 240. Not sure why the fans can be up to 280 but the radiator can only be 240, but you may want to be careful of this. You can fit up to a 360 in the front though.

https://www.lian-li.com/lancool-ii-mesh-rgb/
 
Others with same case say radiator & fans can fit, but cab interfere with RAM. Image below is not great, but shows how fans are very close to RAM:
1605712530766.jpeg
 
OK, just wanted to make sure OP was aware of Lian Li's specs on that. If it works, it works and that's great.
 
Sounds like it should work fine. Air from 3080 should be able to flow into fins on cooler, and unless fan touching side & RAM is causing vibrations and thus noise it shouldn't be a problem. If you had NH-D15S you wouldn't be having current problems because it is offset so fins only reach 67mm toward PCIe, and with single fan in middle there is no front fan clearance issues.

The bigger the air cooler and number of heatpipes the better they cool, so fan/s can spin slower while maintaining same temps. How well air coolers work is very dependent on how well case is flowing cool air to cooler. Every degree warmer air is entering cooler is same degrees hotter component is at same fan speed and load. If air entering cooler is 3c or less above room temp all is good. Also most stock case fans are marginal at best. If their static pressure rating is less than about 1.3mm H2O at about 1200-1300rpm they don't more much air through grill and filter resistance .. definitely not as much as cooler fan/s are moving through coolers. when this happens coolers have to re-use their own heated exhaust air .. making cooler intake air temp 15c, 20c, even 30c warmer than room is both CPU and GPU are working hard.
Link below to basics of airflow and optimizing case airflow might be of interest:
https://hardforum.com/threads/basic-guide-to-improving-case-airflow.1987938/
Thanks I did not realize the D15S was offset thought they were the same but with the additional fan. May have to consider this as well.

With respect to fans. I am running Noctuas in the case. 120mm behind the CPU, 140mm on top, 3 120mm in the front (may change to 2 140s as the noise level is mildly annoying to me).
 
OK, just wanted to make sure OP was aware of Lian Li's specs on that. If it works, it works and that's great.
Thanks for this I honestly was not aware that was the case and it of course affects my buying decision
 
Sounds like it should work fine. Air from 3080 should be able to flow into fins on cooler, and unless fan touching side & RAM is causing vibrations and thus noise it shouldn't be a problem. If you had NH-D15S you wouldn't be having current problems because it is offset so fins only reach 67mm toward PCIe, and with single fan in middle there is no front fan clearance issues.

The bigger the air cooler and number of heatpipes the better they cool, so fan/s can spin slower while maintaining same temps. How well air coolers work is very dependent on how well case is flowing cool air to cooler. Every degree warmer air is entering cooler is same degrees hotter component is at same fan speed and load. If air entering cooler is 3c or less above room temp all is good. Also most stock case fans are marginal at best. If their static pressure rating is less than about 1.3mm H2O at about 1200-1300rpm they don't more much air through grill and filter resistance .. definitely not as much as cooler fan/s are moving through coolers. when this happens coolers have to re-use their own heated exhaust air .. making cooler intake air temp 15c, 20c, even 30c warmer than room is both CPU and GPU are working hard.
Link below to basics of airflow and optimizing case airflow might be of interest:
https://hardforum.com/threads/basic-guide-to-improving-case-airflow.1987938/
So this should work since it has the offset you mentioned right?
https://www.newegg.com/noctua-nh-d15s-chromax-black/p/13C-0005-001M2

Only place I can find the black version do not want the brown.

I know the Kraken is generally well thought of, I don't keep up with most AIO solutions anymore, so I can only go from what I hear from others. I don't know if rgb is important to you, but here one of the krakens, and it does have an rgb option one if desired.

https://www.amazon.com/NZXT-Kraken-X53-240mm-RL-KRX53-01/dp/B082DYR131

Yeah they have good reviews but I have seen some also complain about their pumps being quite noisy
 
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So this should work since it has the offset you mentioned right?
https://www.newegg.com/noctua-nh-d15s-chromax-black/p/13C-0005-001M2

Only place I can find the black version do not want the brown.



Yeah they have good reviews but I have seen some also complain about their pumps being quite noisy
Forgot D15S Chromax was released. It should fit. Just double check that you have 8mm of clearance on side farthest away from GPU. Bottom of D15 fins are about 57mm above surface of motherboard (49mm above CPU IHS, which is about 8mm above surface of motherboard). There are a few motherboards create problems when finpacks reach that far.
 
Forgot D15S Chromax was released. It should fit. Just double check that you have 8mm of clearance on side farthest away from GPU. Bottom of D15 fins are about 57mm above surface of motherboard (49mm above CPU IHS, which is about 8mm above surface of motherboard). There are a few motherboards create problems when finpacks reach that far.
Thanks what do you think of something like the Corsair h100i AIO?
 
Been using Corsair AIOs since the original H50. Had one H100i "fail" I'm that the pump seemed to slow enough that cooling was very poor but I replaced it.

I'll keep buying them.
 
Thanks what do you think of something like the Corsair h100i AIO?
They are okay for CLCs. As already stated, 3-5 year life, sometimes less sometimes more. I prefer air cooing because is more dependable, cools as well, usually costs less and never fails. Only thing that can go bad is fan, and if a fan does fail cooler still cools, worst case is hang a fan on with rubber bands until new one is in hand. If you do get a CLC, keep stock cooler where you can find it easily, so if CLC fails you have a backup cooler. Because when CLCs fail it's almost always pump, and with no pump there is no water flow so no CPU cooling. So system is out of service until CLC is replace with some another cooler.
 
They are okay for CLCs. As already stated, 3-5 year life, sometimes less sometimes more. I prefer air cooing because is more dependable, cools as well, usually costs less and never fails. Only thing that can go bad is fan, and if a fan does fail cooler still cools, worst case is hang a fan on with rubber bands until new one is in hand. If you do get a CLC, keep stock cooler where you can find it easily, so if CLC fails you have a backup cooler. Because when CLCs fail it's almost always pump, and with no pump there is no water flow so no CPU cooling. So system is out of service until CLC is replace with some another cooler.
Can't really disagree with that and why I have never really gone AIO - just makes me nervous.
 
I've been running my Corsair H115i for I think about 4 years now, with the original fans. No issues to report. Fans are controlled by the CPU0 and 1 fan headers on the mobo, so they ramp up and down based on load. Double check the physical size of these rads too before ordering, and get your tape measure out. While mine is a 280mm rad, and my previous case "supported" 280mm rads, this one happened to be wider then others. I had to remove some of the aesthetic plastic (silver Corsair bands on both sides of the rad) on the sides to get it to fit in my old case. No such issues in my new EVGA case.

I'll post up a pic once I get home tonight.

One other thing to look into is the warranty on these coolers. I'd have to double-check, but I'm pretty sure Corsair (and some others I'm sure) will also cover the cost of damaged components/assist with replacement should one leak and take out a CPU/Mobo/Graphics card, etc.

EDIT: Pics in no particular order

20201118_174517.jpg

20201118_174448_002.jpg


20201118_174541.jpg


20201118_174457.jpg
 
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Problem is even if warranty covers damaged components it's at their discretion, generally owner has to send components to company, then wait months while they decide if it's their fault, and if they do decide it is their fault they pay "fair market value" of product on market now not what was paid for it. It can easily take 4-6 months to get any money at all for damaged components.

That said, while pump failures are not uncommon, leaks are rather rare on CLCs less than 3-5 years old.
 
Thoughts on this one?

https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-Liquid-Freezer-All-One/dp/B07WSDLRVP

Not the most pleasant to look at but supposed to be one of the best from what I have been reading
The Arctic freezers are some of the best performing because they use the thickest rads on the market for their AIO.
Most of the comparable radiators are about 25-27mm thick, the entire AF II line is 38mm so make sure it can fit with fans wherever you're going to put it.

I just stuck one of the 360 versions in my Lian Li O11D on my 9900k. The thing is beastly (keeps it under 80c bench-marking at 5.2ghz).
That said I have to top mount it where it looks meh or when on the back side of my case I can only get 15mm push fans (an acceptable trade for aesthetics IMO).

They basically sacrifice everything for cost and performance, the pump head is not super aesthetically pleasing (in my view), it doesn't have any fancy rgb or a led screen, and doesn't come in multiple colors.
It does however have a fan for vrm chipset cooling (meh on relevancy but a cool feature), solid P12 quiet fans with good pressure for the radiator, one of the best performing models on the market, has the longest tubes of any of the AIO (which can be good for front mount to ensure tubes down configuration) and is one of the lowest costs of the name brand AIO coolers.
 
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Thinking of going AIO as my Noctua and my 3080 are touching each other in a few spots and super close in others. Also the noctua is blocking at least half of the rear fan on the 3080

Worried about failure, leakage etc and ruining an entire computer which would freak me out naturally.

How long do these things last anyway.
Then rotate the Noctua and change a few case fans if any failure is unacceptable.

Gpu fan near cpu cooler should be exhaust, it'll be fine.
 
The Arctic freezers are some of the best performing because they use the thickest rads on the market for their AIO.
Most of the comparable radiators are about 25-27mm thick, the entire AF II line is 38mm so make sure it can fit with fans wherever you're going to put it.

I just stuck one of the 360 versions in my Lian Li O11D on my 9900k. The thing is beastly (keeps it under 80c bench-marking at 5.2ghz).
That said I have to top mount it where it looks meh or when on the back side of my case I can only get 15mm push fans (an acceptable trade for aesthetics IMO).

They basically sacrifice everything for cost and performance, the pump head is not super aesthetically pleasing (in my view), it doesn't have any fancy rgb or a led screen, and doesn't come in multiple colors.
It does however have a fan for vrm chipset cooling (meh on relevancy but a cool feature), solid P12 quiet fans with good pressure for the radiator, one of the best performing models on the market, has the longest tubes of any of the AIO (which can be good for front mount to ensure tubes down configuration) and is one of the lowest costs of the name brand AIO coolers.
While your opinion may be true, we have no data to prove it is.
Radiator being thicker does not mean it is better. All depends on quality of radiator, not it's thickness. Testing of component cooling radiators has proven this many times.
No frills is nice but again it doesn't mean it's better quality or better performing .. or how long it will last.
P12 seem to be good fans, but it will be another couple years before we beging to know how well they will last.
 
You'll get a couple of years out of it for sure. Its not so much failures that are the concern, well if you are looking at a Corsair then the pump will get loud after awhile, that's a given. But its the permeation that no one talks about. It might be hard to notice on a 65 or 100w cpu, but it will happen over time and you will see it in your load temps. But if you are ok with spending a cupla hundred bucks ever couple of years on cooling, then by all means dive right in. I've got an old H100 that feels about half full :D
 
The higher CPU heat output is the faster coolant loss is from permeation. High overclock / heat CPUs cooled by CLCs fail sooner than low heat CPUs. ;)
 
My old X5690 made enough heat for that to start being noticed after 1 year of heavy use. I used it for 3 years before I gave it to my brother to use on his 7700K. He used it for 2 years and couldn't overclock with it the whole, and it was loud. He replaced it with a DRP4 and gave me back my AIO. I might open the pump and see what I can see. If its gross Ill post pics, if not I might just top it up. Wondering if the pump is loud because of a lack of liquid. It would make sense.
 
Yeah, I've heard many reports similar to yours freeagentt. Would be interestied in seeing if topping it up or maybe even flushing and refilling will make. I've been running be quiet! Silent Loop 280 from release. Added Silent Loop 360 rad. from one that owner didn't top up and got noisy. I top up about every 8 months and flush/ refill with new coolant every 18months. Been 20 months now so time to quit procrastinating and change it again. For me 2nd rad helps. Not a lot lower temp but less noise even with the extra fans. Coolant temp is lower.
 
Now I really want to see if the pump is loud because coolant is down. I don't have the mount for it, still in his closet, dammit. I cant just go over there either. We aren't supposed to be doing things like that right now.. but I can still open it up and have a looksey.
 
Now I really want to see if the pump is loud because coolant is down. I don't have the mount for it, still in his closet, dammit. I cant just go over there either. We aren't supposed to be doing things like that right now.. but I can still open it up and have a looksey.

It most definitely has lost some coolant volume due to evaporation.
 
What I'd like to do is top mount one of these aio's and install a small filler port with a small clear reservoir as a visual indicator of current liquid levels.
 
So we are going to that weird in btw aio or open loop?

At that pt OP should just start collecting premium used open loop components.

The semi aios are priced close to where everything used except for a pump sit.
 
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